Bomb kills Iranian nuclear researcher: Tehran sees a “strategy of destruction”

From: Persian2English
Following the assassination of a researcher in Tehran, Iran announced it holds USA and Israel accountable for the attack. According to state-owned television, those countries are now pursuing a strategy to eliminate Iran’s nuclear experts. The USA rejected these allegations as “absurd”.

By Ulrich Pick, ARD radio studio Istanbul

There is differing information about the death of Massoud Ali-Mohammadi. What seems certain is that the professor of nuclear physics was killed in a bombing attack. A bomb was detonated nearby his house in the North of Tehran, killing the 50 year old scientist. It is still not known whether there are other victims, and how many.

Pro-government or pro-opposition?
Conflicting information is being spread about Ali Mohammadi’s political stance: Iran’s prosecutor describes him as loyal and committed to the government. An oppositional website, however, claims that the physicist was a supporter of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi.

Moreover, it is still unclear whether he was involved in the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic. In his publications he mainly focused on cosmology, high-energy physics, and quantum physics.

“USA and Israel seek to eliminate nuclear experts”
Government representatives in Tehran spoke of a “terrorist attack by anti revolutionary forces” initiated bythe USA or Israel. Accordingly, Iran’s official television announced: “America and the Zionist regime have changed their strategy on Iran’s nuclear program. Both countries are disappointed by the effects of their threats and attractive promises made in the negotiations with Iran about the nuclear program, and now seek to pursue a strategy to eliminate our experts.”

State-run television announced that agents of CIA and Mossad have killed an outstanding professor of nuclear physics: “Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, a renowned nuclear expert, was martyred in Northern Tehran by a bomb that had been placed inside a motorcycle.”

USA rejects Iran’s allegations
Meanwhile, Washington responded to the allegations from Tehran, calling them “absurd.” The Iranian organization of the People’s Mojahedeen are said to also have rejected any accountability for the attack.

The attack happened one day after US-General David Petraeus, who is responsible for the Middle East, announced that Washington had “emergency plans” for starting military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. He did not provide any details.

In response, the leadership in Tehran accused the US government to make attempts to further escalate the conflict about the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic. A spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, Washington’s statements are the opposite of a new policy, and a return to former mistakes of the USA.